The work of the laboratory for the next year will focus on the sharing behavior of children in the second year of life. Three components of sharing have been distinguished: showing an object to another person (pointing to it or holding it up, both responses accompanied by looking at or talking to the person); and playing with that object while it is in contact with the person); giving the object to a person (releasing it in his lap or hand ); and playing with that object while it is in contact with the person. Questions asked include the nature of objects shared, the recipients of sharing, and the effects of the recipients' behavior. Since we know from field observations that sharing occurs long before 18 months of age (the age we are currently studying), we shall also extend these studies to younger children. The significance of these studies seems considerable. The child's sharing at an early age lends credence to the claim that he is an active agent in social encounters. Even more, we have shown that without formal tuition he is on many occasions a giver. Thus, he is already engaging in behavior of consequence for living with others. These observations, then, add a new dimension to our view of the very young child and to our conception of human nature.